In Praise of Shadows Arkitektur

We see a cemetery as a place which is naturally linked to life. To the development of life through the world, something wandering which suddenly one day can end. A demystified relationship to death makes life easier to live.

Our proposal for a new service building at the Ulriksdal Cemetery inserts itself in the rich, magnificent nature of the site. Two volumes at an angle, opens up the north west and are supplemented with an ancillary building. The volume of the workshop reaches up towards the slope where the oak trees grow, pointing in the direction of a future chapel. The long concrete facade with its relief effects, stretches out to form a back drop for the cemetery and separates its tranquility from the activity of the courtyard of the sevice building. The service building consists of two different volumes in two different materials, concrete and wood, holding each other, in the meeting between the volumes, the circulation occurs in the form of a cast in place concrete staircase which constitutes the nave between workshops, administration and staff.

The service building is constructed out of truly sustainable material which will age naturally and beautifully. The concrete stair and the floors are cast in place and by choice the traces and defects from the casting process have been left visible.